Bahrain Mirror: Local newspaper al-Wasat said that "the security authorities inspected the passports of citizens' passports upon their arrival to Bahrain's international airport, coming back from Iraq, where they commemorated the Arbaeen of Imam Hussein in the past few days.

The newspaper reported some individuals saying that "the security authorities kept the passports in its custody for inspection before handing them over to their owners around an hour after taking them."

Some citizens also reported that "security authorities seized the passports after inspection, and asked their owners to head to the Passports and Residence Affairs department, where they asked them to reissue new passports, without imposed any fines or fees other than the new passport issuance fees."

The authorities claimed that this measure was to detect whose passport was stamped with an unofficial stamp, therefore making it invalid.

Arabic Version